Author: April

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Cut in the Hill Gang: Livin’ in a Town That Ain’t Even on the Map

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Here’s how I want to write this post about the Cut in the Hill Gang’s Mean Black Cat: Holy shit, buy this album! Go! Do it now! It is flat-out, fist-pumping, sternum-thumping rock-and-goddamn-roll from top to bottom, and you need it. Then I would throw out a couple of songs, and you would listen and say, “Damn, the effusive writer is correct! Where’s my credit card?”

But some people are going to want more than my exuberant flailing to go on (if you weren’t already enticed by the description of the album in our James Leg interview).

In this most recent incarnation, the Cut in the Hill Gang is comprised of four frontmen: Johnny Walker (Soledad Brothers), Lance Kaufman (StarDevils), Reuben Glaser (Pearlene) and James Leg (Black Diamond Heavies). And on Mean Black Cat, the four put their dirty fingerprints all over other people’s songs. CitHG dip into a number of genres and eras, covering the likes of Lula Collins, the Gun Club, Gary U.S. Bonds, the Kills, Hound Dog Taylor, the MC5, Bill Allen… If you’re familiar with the other works of the CitHG members, the artists covered aren’t a huge surprise, but the way some of these songs are covered may give you a pleasant start. The opening track, “Don’t Ever Leave Your Daddy at Home”, is a stunningly ragged and raw turn on Frank Frost’s “Never Leave Me at Home” that feels like it could burn the lining out of your throat just from listening to it. And the greasy slide of the Gun Club’s “Promise Me” is turned into a sparse, haunting, echoing plea as the album’s closer.

There are also clever marriages of songs. The MC5’s “Black to Comm” flows seamlessly in and out of Hound Dog Taylor’s “Let’s Get Funky”. Later on, the Kills’ “Fuck the People” meets up with Spacemen 3’s “Revolution” to form a sneering call to arms.

Two of my favorite tracks on the album are the covers of Gary U.S. Bonds’ “I Wanna Holler” and the Mighty Hannibal’s “The Right to Love You”. Leg takes the lead on “Holler”, bringing the keys to the forefront and covering everything with his trademark growl while a tribal drumbeat thrums deep under it all. (Plus, it’s amusing to hear Leg utter the line “I’m just a silly sap.”)

 

I Wanna Holler by Cut in the Hill Gang

 

The vocals of “Right to Love” are so heaped with emotion that they sometimes sound as if they will cut out all together under the strain, yet the vibe of the song holds a certain menace that makes love sound like a threat.

 

The Right to Love You by Cut in the Hill Gang

 

This album would be shooting to the top of my Favorite Albums of 2011 So Far list if it wasn’t for the fact that it was released last October.

You want this album now, don’t you? Yeah, here’s the catch for all the U.S. readers: It’s only available as an import. Mean Black Cat was commissioned by German label Stag-O-Lee and hasn’t been picked up by an American distributor. But this being the Age of the Internet, the album is easily obtainable through Stag-O-Lee’s parent company Glitterhouse or through Amazon or a few other online retailers. Yes, it will cost you a little more, but if you’re turned on by what you’ve heard, I’m confident you will find the album worth the extra scratch.

 

Cut in the Hill Gang @ MySpace (where you can hear a couple more songs off of Mean Black Cat, as well as the great “Soul to Waste”)

The Tale of the Cut in the Hill Gang

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Bits: Cleveland Confidential, Robert Pollard, Beastie Boys, Jay Reatard, The Dirtbombs, The Due Diligence, Grandfather, Record Store Day

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  • While I was too late to alert you to the Cleveland Confidential Book Tour‘s stop at the Rockhall and its attendant webcast (which was great), the tour – which features Cheetah Chrome (Rocket from the Tombs, the Dead Boys), Mike Hudson (The Pagans) and Bob Pfeifer (Human Switchboard) reading from their respective books – stops at the Ann Arbor District Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, tonight (April 12) at 7 PM. And if you’re in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday (April 14), you can catch the tour with featured guest Dave Thomas (Rocket from the Tombs, Pere Ubu) at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live at 7:30 PM.
  • Speaking of Ohio, you can download a few mp3s from various projects of human music machine Robert Pollard.
  • If you somehow haven’t heard it yet, you can check out a leaked track, “Make Some Noise”, from the forthcoming Beastie Boys’ album Hotsauce Committee Part Two on their Tumblr.
  • Jay Reatard documentary Better Than Something will debut at the Nashville Film Festival this Friday, April 15 at 7 PM. (You can check out Waiting for Something a short documentary from the same filmmakers here.)
  • The Dirtbombs have announced a handful of tour dates, kicking off in Detroit, Michigan, at the end of May.
  • The Due Diligence will be playing a double record release show with the Shivers on May 29 at the Mercury Lounge in New York.
  • Grandfather will be playing a free show at The Shop in Brooklyn, New York, on April 23. This will be their first show with their rejuvenated lineup of Joshua Hoffman (vocals), Michael Kirsch (guitar), Phil Sangiacomo (drums) and Justin Mantooth (bass).
  • Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 16, and The Numero Group pop up store in Chicago, Illinois, has a unique offer available.
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The Imperial Rooster: My Heart is Thawed

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Couch by Couch West: it started out as a tongue-in-cheek backlash against the rising tide of babble that always inundates the online music community around South by South West time. But while the whole thing started out as a joke that masked the fact that many of us were envious of the people who were going out to Austin to take in some great live performances, CXCW turned into a viable entertainment option of its own, complete with exclusive performances from unknown and name acts alike (Neko Case didn’t play SXSW this year, but she and her dog Liza did serenade CXCWers). NTSIB found more than a couple of acts that made us sit up and say, “We’ve got to get them on the blog!”

One of those bands was the Imperial Rooster. Playing from a porch in Espanola, New Mexico, the Roosters showed up early and often at CXCW. Here they are in their CXCW performance of “The Ballad Of Lightning Bill Jasper”:

 

 

Their first album, Old Good Crazy Poor Dead, spans the spectrum from raucous novelty songs (“Pigfork”) to heart-tearing, Southern gothic ballad (“Uranium Mole”). Rooster music is loose and full of heart, and we heartell they put on a mean live show. (And Shooter Jennings likes ’em, too.) Stream or download a couple of my favorite tracks from OGCPD below.

 

Your Friends Think I’m The Devil by The Imperial Rooster

 

Never Cold Again by The Imperial Rooster

 

The Imperial Rooster has a new album coming out sooner than later, and we’ll be keeping you apprised of those goings on.

 

The Imperial Rooster @ ReverbNation

The Imperial Rooster @ Facebook

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Sat, Apr 9| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    Hayes Carll
    Shovels & Rope
    Roger Hoover
    $10 adv / $12 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Sun, Apr 10| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    John Mark McMillan
    All The Bright Lights
    $10adv / $12 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Mon, Apr 11| 7 PM (6:30 PM door)
    Scott Hanson & The Champagnes
    Mary Mee
    $7
    Ballroom | All Ages
  • Wed, Apr 13| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
    Tristen
    The Apache Relay
    $10 adv / $12 dos
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Sat, Apr 9| 8 PM
    Subhumans
    MDC
    ODFX
    Masakari
    $12
  • Sun, Apr 10| 8 PM
    Starfucker
    Champagne Champagne
    Hot Cha Cha
    The Nude Acid American Revolution Band
    $10
  • Mon, Apr 11| 8 PM
    Mike Watt + The Missingmen
    The Lawton Brothers
    Restless Habs
    $10
  • Thu, Apr 14| 8 PM
    Royal Bangs
    Clovers
    The May Company
    $8
  • Fri, Apr 15| 8 PM
    The Black Angels
    Suuns
    Terminal Lovers
    $13 adv / $15 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Sun, Apr 10| 10 PM
    Davila 666
    The Wooly Bullies
    Mr. California
    $8
  • Tue, Apr 12| 9 PM
    Des Ark
    Pygmy Lush
    Reverse the Curse
    Craig Ramsey
    $5
  • Thu, Apr 14| 9 PM
    Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout!
    Let Me Crazy
    Powerhead Kids
    FREE

Peabody’s

  • Sat, Apr 9| 8 PM
    Chip Tha Ripper
    Ace Boogie & Sauce
    Blac Cease
    Mister Mick Fizzle
    J.Will
    SGM
    $15

Wonder Bar

  • Fri, Apr 15| 9 PM
    The Hounds

Quicken Arena

  • Fri, Apr 15| 7:30 PM
    Rush
    $46.50, $69.00, $93.50

Musica

  • Fri, Apr 8| 9 PM
    Peter Murphy
    Livan
    $25
  • Fri, Apr 15| 8 PM
    Local H
    The Dig
    User Sets Mode
    $12
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Brown Bird: I’ll Embrace It All

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Brown Bird’s forthcoming EP, The Sound of Ghosts, seems to be another step in the stripped-down band’s evolution, sounding as different from early albums “Such Unrest” and “Tautology” as the Carolina Chocolate Drops sound from Iron and Wine. While early Brown Bird songs were slow, sparse, delicate pieces, The Sound of Ghosts is imbued, start to finish, with foot-stomping, ramshackle rhythms anchored by upright bass and layered with percussive guitar, rich harmonizing between David Lamb and his partner MorganEve Swain and a splash of fiddle and banjo. One can hear influences that span the world, but it’s all held together with a polish that never overwhelms the spirit of the songs.

 

Bilgewater by Brown Bird

 

The EP is available via Brown Bird’s Bandcamp site with a limited edition hand-silkscreened edition that will ship May 1st. The EP will see wide release May 10th.

Brown Bird is on the road now and will be playing the Newport Folk Festival in July.

 

BROWN BIRD 2011 SPRING/SUMMER TOUR DATES
(more dates to be announced soon)
Apr 08 – The Apohodion w/ Al Scorch, Plains / Portland, ME
Apr 16 – Virada Cultural, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Apr 23 – WOW Hall w/ The Devil Makes Three / Eugene, OR
Apr 24 – Wonder Ballroom w/ The Devil Makes Three / Portland, OR
Apr 27 – Crystal bay Casino w/ The Devil Makes Three / Crystal Bay, NV
Apr 28 – Slim’s w/ The Devil Makes Three / San Francisco, CA
Apr 29 – The Catalyst w/ The Devil Makes Three / Santa Cruz, CA
May 05 – Porter Belly’s / Brighton, MA
May 07 – House Show w/ Sidewalk Dave, Plume Giant / New Haven, CT
May 19 – The Met EP RELEASE PARTY!! w/ The Devil Makes Three, Wooden Dinosaur, The Silks / Pawtucket, RI
May 20 – Bario-Neal Jewelry Show/ Marco Panella, Wooden Dinosaur / Philly, PA
May 22 – w/ Homemade Knives / Richmond, VA
May 26 – Rochambeau Library / Providence, RI
Jun 03 – Lily Pad w/ Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons / Peacedale, RI
Jun 24 – Elysium w/ Audrey Ryan / Rollinsford, NH
Jun 25 – SPACE Gallery w/ Audrey Ryan and South China / Portland, ME
Jul 31 – Newport Folk Festival / Newport, RI

 

Brown Bird Official Website

 

[photo credit: Mikael Kennedy]

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Feel Bad For You, April 2011

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Feel Bad For You hosts a monthly mixtape comprised of submissions from music bloggers and Twitterers, and it’s always a good time. This month, NTSIB jumped into the fray, and you can enjoy it all below, by stream or by download. It’s a good time, people.

Download

Title: Commodify Your Dissent
Artist: The Dead Milkmen
Album: The King in Yellow (2011)
Submitted By: Bryan Childs (Autopsy IV)
Comments: Brand new music from the Dead Milkmen. Love the lyric, “country music used to be about the music and not the country”

Title: The Ballad of Johnny X
Artist: The Bouncing Souls
Album: Johnny X 7″ (1995)
Submitted By: Romeo Sid Vicious
Comments: Been in kind of a “Fuck Off” mood lately due to various circumstances so I have been pulling out older and angrier stuff to make it through. This one is pretty standard for me when these moods rear their ugly heads.

Title: Little Summertime Girl
Artist: David Childers and The Modern Don Juans
Album: Burning In Hell (2007)
Submitted By: Truersound
Comments: Recent Childers talk made me want to submit this. I’ve posted this song on ATS a couple times, but I love it and I love David Childers and it’s never made it to a FBFY comp….til now!

Title:Two-Headed Coin
Artist Obits
Album: Moody, Standard and Poor (2011)
Submitted By: David Horton @Popa2unes
Comments: This band just showed up on my radar, but they’ve only been a band since ‘07 but are accomplished musicians who once fronted Drive Like Jehu, Edsel, Hot Snakes, and Pitchfork.

Title: The Speed of Trees
Artist: Ellis Paul
Album: The Speed of Trees (2002)
Submitted By: Phil Norman @philnorman www.bluemoonshineband.com
Comments: “Your love makes me move at the speed of tress.” For me, Ellis Paul defines the contemporary singer-songwriter genre.

Title: Land It
Artist: Vulture Whale
Album: Vulture Whale (2007)
Submitted by: Corey Flegel, This Is American Music
Comments- “This song is our Freebird” — Lee Bains (Glory Fires, Dexateens)

Title: Forty Days
Artist: Let’s Active
Album: Every Dog Has His Day (1988)
Submitted By: toomuchcountry
Comments: April > Easter > Mitch > Let’s Active. Naturally.

Title: Punx Not Dead…It’s Just Sleeping
Artist: Yesterday’s Ring
Album: Diamonds In The Ditch (2009)
Submitted By: PearlSnapMan

Title: Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance?
Artist: Rusty Wier
Album: Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance? (1975)
Submitted By: erschen
Comments: I hadn’t heard this in years until I heard Todd Snider’s version on his latest live album. This song never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Title: Champipple
Artist: John Popper & the Duskray Troubadors
Album: s/t (2011)
Submitted By: Trailer from www.farcethemusic.com
Comments: I’m a huge Sanford & Son fan, so pretty much, a song titled “Champipple” only need be listenable to grab me. Bonus points for being a pretty damn good tune.

Title: Bessie Smith
Artist: Bob Dylan and the Band
Album: The Basement Tapes (1975)
Submitted By: Jackattack
Comments: I love Garth Hudson’s organ playing on this song. Absolutely stunning. And Rick Danko singing doesn’t hurt!

Title: American Girl
Artist: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Album: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976)
Submitted By: BoogieStudio22
Comments: How best to introduce myself? How about with *the* song from *the* album that, for me, distilled the sound of the 50s/60s (to which my older brother introduced me) & also had the attitude and energy that set the stage for my future musical preferences. I can still remember that day in 1977 when I first heard it. It was a spring afternoon. My best friend and I are cruising in his metallic blue Duster. Mike says he has a new tape he wants me to check out, pops it into the player and I hear the snare/cymbal intro of “Rockin’ Around”. And so started my love affair with music that continues to this day. This album is in my top 10 and this song, “American Girl”, never fails to bring that day back to me. I can, quite literally, smell the smells, feel the sun and relive that afternoon. Friends think I’m crazy when I say that, but it’s true.

Title: The Right to Love You
Artist: Cut in the Hill Gang
Album: Mean Black Cat (2010)
Submitted By: Now This Sound Is Brave
Comments: Covering a song by the Mighty Hannibal, CitHG make love sound like a threat. A sexy, going-down-slow kind of threat. Album only available as import, but well worth the extra scratch.

Title: If Only You Were Lonely
Artist: The Replacements
Album: B-Side to I’m In Trouble (1981)
Submitted By: @marioegarcia (@imperialrooster, vacuumsongs.blogspot.com)
Comments: Early peek at Westerberg’s songwriting genius. It amazes me that he was this melodic and sincere this early in their “snotty trash” days. Perennial mixtape fave of mine. The lyrics are perfect. Who here hasn’t been in the position of our hero, drunk and dying for the person sitting next to him at the bar to go home with him…

Title: Busted
Artist: Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis
Album: Here We Go Again (2011)
Submitted By: @mikeorren
Comments: Willie’s country has always had a jazz delivery. This is the second live disc collaboration, a tribute to Ray Charles. And lately, I’ve been feeling a little Busted.

Title: Goodbye Princess
Artist: Chase 56
Album: Allatoona Rising (2010)
Submitted By: TheOtherBrit
Comments: One of the few albums in recent history that I love every single track on, these guys are my hometown heroes, or something like that.

Title: Alone in the Make-Out Room
Artist: The Broken Family Band
Album: Balls (2006)
Submitted By: Simon
Comments: Sticking with UK bands for FBFY, here’s a killer indie twang track from The Broken Family Band

Title: Surprise, Honeycomb
Artist: The Wrens
Album: Secaucus (1996)
Submitted By: verbow1
Comments: This song is killing me lately. Can’t describe it. Dark and twisted – as you can tell by the lyrics.

Title: Tennessee Nighttime Blues
Artist: Jacob Thomas
Album: Black, White and Red: Vol. II (2007)
Submitted by: Slowcoustic
Comments: Truly a down trodden track if I ever heard one – but at the same time achingly beautiful. Like exhaling smoke from lungs this song just brings a sense of stillness to the sad bastards among us.

Title: Beautiful Gas Mask
Artist: The Mountain Goats
Album: All Eternals Deck (2011)
Submitted by: noteethleroy

Title: Lookin’ For A Girl Like You
Artist: Dan Tedesco
Album: Tracks On Fire (2011)
Submitted By: monkeyboy
Comments: I’m liking this guy’s new album and going to see him in Denver on April 7th. Check him out!

Title: I Take It On Home
Artist: Charlie Rich
Album: 20 Greatest Hits
Submitted By: Bowood
Comments: Great voice and great advice.

Title: Rules
Artist: Blue Moonshine
Album: Distilled EP (2011)
Submitted By: Rockstar Aimz
Comments: Great little bluegrass-ish/country-ish EP. More fiddle!

Title: Drink, Fuck, Drive Truck
Artist: The Tower of Dudes
Album: A Plan (2008)
Submitted by: Jessica (newmusicco.blogspot.com)
Comments: The title says it all.

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Clarksdale Revisited: the Australian Perspective

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This past summer, my co-blogger Jennifer and I lured our longtime friend Cam into hitting the road down to Mississippi with us. If you check the roadtrip tag at the bottom of this post, you can read some of our other recollections from the trip, but for now, go read Cam’s lovely article about our visit with Rat at the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale.

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Bits: Ray Charles, Barnstormer 4, Dinosaur Jr, Robert Johnson, Justin Townes Earle, Americana Rock Mix

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  • A to Z: The Riverfront Times Music Blog has exclusive streams of some never-heard-before recordings of Ray Charles, recorded by Charles’ cohort Marci Soto.
  • Tickets are on sale for Daytrotter‘s Barnstormer 4 concert series. This years line-up includes Sondre Lerche, Guards, The Romany Rye, Hellogoodbye, Keegan DeWitt and the ever popular “special guests”.
  • Dinosaur Jr will be playing their album Bug in its entirety on tour this summer. Additionally, different dates will have different friends along, including OFF!, Thurston Moore and Henry Rollins.
  • The city of Greenwood, Mississippi, will be celebrating 100 years of Robert Johnson May 5-8. The celebration will include exhibits, tours, panels and, of course, music. The musical roster includes Bobby Rush, Honeyboy Edwards, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Keb’ Mo’ and more.
  • Justin Townes Earle guested on A Prairie Home Companion, and you can listen to the show here.
  • Our new friends at Americana Rock Mix are raising funds for surgery for their canine companion, Boris. If you donate to help Boris, you’ll get some goodies like a download grab bag, an exclusive podcast and a thank you in the next podcast.
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Exploding Lies/Hacienda/The Greenhornes at the Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH, 4.1.11

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Exploding Lies

 

Exploding Lies

 

The night kicked off (and that is the appropriate way to describe it – this night did not do something meek like “begin” or “start”) with Cleveland’s own Exploding Lies, a blues-inflected rock band with emphasis on low and heavy vibes. So dedicated to that low and heavy end are this band that they sometimes step into the Black Sabbath end of the spectrum with impressive results. While the band seems a little hesitant on stage, there is a lot of potential there, and once they are comfortable enough to own the stage, they will move from good to great.

(And they already have one of the most entertaining-to-watch drummers I’ve seen.)

 

Hacienda

 

Hacienda

 

My second time seeing this south Texas foursome was even better than the first. Perhaps it’s the family dynamic – the band being made up of the brothers Villanueva (Abraham on keys, Rene on bass and Jaime on drums) and cousin Dante Schwebel on guitar – but this band is tight. And it’s that tightness in musicianship that allows them to throw out perfectly loose grooves. So in sync are they that they can go all out, shake-the-rafters rockin’ without ever going off the rails. Mixing up a set list of tracks from their two albums (a third will be recorded in Nashville this summer), kept up a feel-good energy throughout their set until they closed it up with a blow-the-roof-off, if-you-don’t-dance-to-this-you-might-be-dead jam on “Mama’s Cookin'”.

I can’t say enough good things about this band. As a whole and individually, these guys are impressive. They all play far above baseline expectations, always showing audacious skill but never being flashy for flashiness’ sake, always serving the groove. And you can hear their south Texas home in their music. This is the music of warm nights, barefoot girls and barbecue-chomping boys, relaxing with beers and friends. And no band I’ve ever seen live has made me dance more than Hacienda. (And they rival the Gories for best soundcheck around.)

Speaking between songs, Dante said Ohio has become like a second home to the band (no doubt bolstered through their continued relationship with Dan Auerbach), and I, for one, would be happy to claim these guys as our own.

 

Hacienda

 

The Greenhornes

 

The Greenhornes

 

Speaking of Ohio’s own… I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the Greenhornes, coming late to the Cincinnati band’s material and being ambivalent about what I’d heard around the internet.

That ambivalence lasted about two seconds into Friday night’s set. From Jack Lawrence’s lead-in to the final blast of their nearly-11-minute cover of James Brown’s “I’ll Go Crazy”, I was rooting for the home team. The Greenhornes know just where to hit on the body to render maximum devastation, pumping adrenaline-soaked bullets into the audience’s major arteries from beginning to end. By the end, I was hooting and hollering just as loudly as those who were smart enough to get on board with the Greenhornes long before I did.

It’s easy to see why Jack White keeps tapping Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler to fill his rhythm section needs with their strong sense of rock rhythm and groove, adding just enough funk to get you hustling. And while I had seen complaints about singer/guitarist Craig Fox’s stage demeanor in the lead-up to the show from people taken aback by his mostly stock-still posture, Fox didn’t need to bounce around with all the energy he generated from his Gibson SG.

 


Video by AdamBionic22.

 

So, call me a convert. The Greenhornes were deadly and made this show a pretty-much-perfect night of rock and roll. And by the end, you could almost hear buttons popping off of shirt fronts as our collective Ohio chest swelled with pride.

 

Jack Lawrence